“Fortnite” maker is not happy with Apple’s revised DMA rules
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney was quick to criticise Apple’s new fee structure in the EU, calling it “junk fees”, while Spotify said the update was “unacceptable”.
Apple’s first attempt to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act failed because the EU found it was in breach, so Apple announced a revision of its terms to try to comply while still retaining some level of control.
It didn’t take long for some of Apple’s biggest adversaries to step up and call the new rules a violation. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney aired his complaints on X, calling Apple’s recent adjustments a “junk fee.”
In the European Union, where the new DMA law opens up competition between app stores, Apple continues its malicious compliance by imposing an illegal new 15% junk fee on users who switch to competing stores and by monitoring commerce on those competing stores.https://t.co/YUYwsnrh32 pic.twitter.com/xAWGkOWPrH
— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) 8 August 2024
A statement shared by Spotify, first reported by TechCrunch shows the company’s disregard for Apple’s implementation. It sees Apple’s recent rule change as a disregard for the DMA.
“We are currently reviewing Apple’s intentionally confusing proposal,” the company’s statement said. “On its face, Apple once again blatantly disregards the basic requirements of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by charging a fee of up to 25% for basic communications with users. The European Commission has made it clear that charging recurring fees for basic elements such as pricing and linking is unacceptable. We call on the Commission to speed up its investigation, impose daily fines and enforce the DMA.”
These comments come after Apple adjusted the fee structure around alternative app stores and external app fees. The Core Technology Fee remains, but the previous commission has been split into two new fees.
The first is an initial acquisition fee, where Apple charges 5% of all purchases made by a new app user in the first year if the app uses links to direct users out of the App Store. The second is a store service fee, which is 10% of all sales in the first year.
If you reinstall or update the app, the year counter will restart.
The fees vary depending on whether the developer benefits from the new rules or participates in the small business program. Either way, you can’t get around Apple’s fee structure, even if you offer purchases outside of Apple’s domain.
It seems that Epic and Spotify are hoping the EU will not allow Apple to charge for app sales or purchases made outside of the App Store. Of course, Apple believes it has a hand in these purchases because the user accessed the app through the App Store.
Epic is not currently active on the iPhone, but is planning a third-party store and will distribute Fortnite and other games through other stores like AltStore. Spotify is the most popular music streaming service in the world and currently pays Apple very little or nothing other than the $100 developer fee.
